Migration dynamics not only fundamentally question the development and governance of Africa in relation to Africa itself, but also in relation to Europe and the rest of the world. Migration is also a fundamental theme for research and policy dialogue on critical issues in West Africa.

The Coalition for Dialogue in Africa (CoDA), in partnership with the Government of Senegal, with support from the Africa Governance Institute (Institut Africain de Gouvernance), the Alliance for Rebuilding Governance in Africa (Alliance pour Refonder la Gouvernance en Afrique) and partner organisations including PRISE member IED Afrique, have convened a conference in West Africa on the theme “Migration and development governance: time for action”.

The conference will bring together various stakeholder groups – including government bodies and official representatives from the presidents of Senegal, Mali and Liberia; knowledge brokers including the former president of Ghana Mr. John A. Kufuor; Regional and international organisations – including the African Union, Economic Community Of West African States, European Commission, International Organization for Migration, research institutions, think tanks and civil society organisations, with the following objectives:

• To contribute to building proactive thinking about migration, governance and development in West Africa;
• To facilitate the creation of a common position and the formulation of proposals for improving practices and migration policies for development and governance in West Africa.

The conference was preceded by a preliminary meeting on October 20th, which gave young people, who constitute the age group that migrates the most, the opportunity to be involved in the work of the conference, including:

• Sharing with young people the challenges around issues of migration, as well as informing them of the programme and objectives of the conference;
• Identifying with them the structural and economic causes of migration;
• Working with them to develop innovative proposals and recommendations to contribute to the identification of migration policies that are favourable to all stakeholders.

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This work was carried out under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), with financial support from the UK Government's Department for International Development (DfID) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. The views expressed in this work are those of the creators and do not necessarily represent those of DfID and IDRC or its Board of Governors.